Resisting infection Flashcards
How and what diseases are caused by bacteria?
Bacteria release poisons or toxins.
Causing tetanus, food poisoning and TB
How do bacteria and viruses reproduce so rapidly?
Bacteria reproduce asexually by diving into two known as binary fission causing exponential growth.
Viruses hijack a host cell and use the cells to make copies of themselves that are released to repeat this
What does the Immune system use to defend the body and how?
It uses white blood cells, made in the bone marrow, some engulf invading microbes where others produce antibodies
How do antibodies fight off microbes?
Microbes all have antigens on their surface, each unique to this microbe, antibodies recognise the antigen on the surface and therefore have to produce the corresponding antibody
How do we become immune to specific microbes and diseases?
Once the body has recognised the correct antibody that goes with the unique antigen, memory cells can then make this antibody again very quickly on demand in the future (immunity)
